Learning God's Word One Verse at a Time

Read Matthew 5:43-48

Continuing on with our study of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus once again says some very hard things. Love your enemy? How is that even possible? How are we supposed to love those who murder innocent children persecute us for our faith like the members of the terrorist group ISIS are doing? How could Jesus ask that and how do we reasonably implement it? Fortunately, by digging into Scripture we find our answers. More importantly, we discover that once again the NIV leaves out crucial verses that make what Jesus has said, so much easier to understand.

Once again Jesus refers to the Torah to lay the foundation of where He is going. So let's look at the passage He was referring to.

You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbour as yourself: I am the Lord. (Leviticus 19:18)

The first question we need to ask is - who is our neighbour? According to the Hebrew definition of the word used here, which is rea`, our neighbour would be everyone we meet, from friends and intimate companions, to fellow citizens. The Greek word for neighbour was plēsion and meant the same thing. Our neighbour was anyone we meet. The Law made it clear then that no one was to treat anyone badly, even to the smallest of citizens.

Jesus goes on to say: "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust"(Matthew 5:44-45, NKJV).

And it is here that we find the NIV has once again deleted crucial verses that show us the steps to loving our neighbour. Here is what the NIV says:

But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous (Matthew 5:44-45, NIV).

As you can see, the NIV deletes how we are to love our enemies - by blessing them, doing good to them and praying for them. And why are we to do these things? So that we may show we are children of God. This is what makes us different above all else and it is why Christians are supposed to be known as a peaceful, non-retaliatory people. We are not supposed to respond in kind. We are not supposed to behave like the world. We are to rise above it. Proverbs 25:21-22 says it best:

If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat;and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink.For so you will heap coals of fire on his head, and the Lord will reward you.

Jesus goes on to say that if we only love those who love us how are we any different than tax collectors? FYI - tax collectors were on the low rung of the ladder in Jesus' day because they were public officials of Jewish nationality who worked for the Roman government, and were generally despised by the people. It was common knowledge that the tax collectors cheated the people they collected from by collecting more than was required and keeping the extra for themselves. The tax collector Zacchaeus, confessed to the Lord that he had done this (Luke 19:8). So, yeah - very hard to like, let alone love.

Yet Jesus said: "If you greet your brethrenonly, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectorsdo so?" In other words, loving our enemies by doing something good for them (bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you)is how we win them over to Christ and isn't that our ultimate goal? To see those still trapped in darkness enter into the light of Christ?

Matthew 5:48 sums up what happens to the Christian who loves their enemies as Jesus described.

Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect (Matthew 5:48, NKJV).

The KJV version and the NIV both say, "Be ye therefore perfect." The NKJV in a roundabout way explains how that perfection is attained. The word for "perfect" comes from the Greek word teleios which means "perfect, of full age, completed". In other words this final verse tells us that if we practice love the way Jesus taught us, we will become fully mature, perfect, and complete in Him - just as our Father in heaven is perfect.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him,
and without Him nothing was made that was made.In Him was life,
and the life was the light of men.And the light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness did not comprehend it.
John 1:1-5, NKJV

In Hebrew The Word is translated as The D'var Hashem which means "The Word of God." So The Word of God was with God and the Word of God was God. He was with God in the beginning. But how is it that The Word of God, The D'var Hashem is a He? How can all things be made through the Word? How can this Word be life and the light of all mankind? This is possible because The Word referred to in the verse above is not the written word or scripture, but The Word, is Jesus Christ.

John 1:14 confirms this - And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

The D'var Hashem, The Word of God, is Yeshua - Jesus! And the D'var Hashem became flesh and made his sukkah or His Mishkan (Tabernacle) among us. Think about that for a moment. The body Jesus took on, had to be pure enough that his Divine Glory or presence (Shekinah) would be able to dwell in it. That is why Jesus was born of a virgin. If Mary and Joseph had conceived Jesus in the normal way He would have been born into a sinful body. But this couldn't happen because the Tabernacle or body Jesus took on, had to be free of sin or God's divine presence could not dwell there.

Now let's take this a little further. God went to all that trouble - to find a way here to walk among us, to house His glory - only to take the sins of the world upon Himself at the end of His earthly life. He who was without sin, became sin for us. Why? 2 Corinthians 5:21 makes it clear, "For He (God) made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (NKJV, emphasis mine).

God made Jesus who had no sin, to be a sin offering (chattat) on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Jesus. Imagine that! When God looks at someone who has claimed Jesus as their Saviour, He no longer sees their sin. Jesus has become the final Sin Offering. A sacrifice that is beyond measure. We have been forgiven. Our sins have been atoned for. The same Levitical offerings that were made in the Old Testament have come full circle and been fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
- Romans 8:1, NKJV

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s gracethat he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding,he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ,to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.
Ephesian 1:7-10

The above verses are just a small segment of what we have in Christ Jesus. The riches we have been given because we acknowledge that Jesus is the Messiah and our Saviour are astounding when you think about the fact that it was all done for one reason - God loved us.There is, when it comes right down to it, no other reason why we have been granted these incredible gifts. Therefore, today I would like us to meditate on just a few of those gifts of love the Lord bestows on all who come to Him.

We are Redeemed

What does it mean to be redeemed and more importantly, what are we redeemed from? The word redeem means "to buy back" or "pay off". In the Old Testament there is a beautiful depiction of redemption in the story of Ruth and Boaz (Ruth 1-4). He was called her Kinsmen-Redeemer and because of Jewish law it was his responsibility to care for a relative who was in need, danger or in trouble. Ruth and Naomi were poor widows, so as their Kinsmen-Redeemer Boaz rescued or "redeemed" them. Jesus is our Kinsmen-Redeemer who rescued us from the curse of sin and eternal separation from God. We have that redemption because of the blood he shed on the cross for us.

We Have Our Sins Forgiven

When you were a child and disobeyed your parents, you knew it immediately by the tone of their voice - their disapproval was evident and you either fessed up to what you had done and why, or you tried to hide if forever from your parents. Either way the guilt was overwhelming until you said those three little words, "I am sorry." You knew by admitting what you had done punishment of some kind would follow. Sometimes your "sorry" was enough, but if you had wise parents they would want you to remember what you did wrong and so they would enforce that "I'm sorry" with a punishment of some kind. When Jesus died on the cross all our sins were immediately forgiven. Why? Because the punishment for unforgiven sin is eternal separation from God. God loves you too much to be eternally separate from Him. But there had to be a punishment for your sins. The price for your punishment was paid through Jesus.

We Have All This Because of God's Grace

Ephesians 2:8-9 says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." Even our faith is a gift from God because of His grace. In other words, He provides everything for us because of His great love, in order that we will not perish in our sins and be forever separated from Him. What a wonderful God we have! His gifts to us are unfathomable. Today, rejoice in the knowledge that your faith, forgiveness of sins and your redemption all come because God in His infinite mercy has shown us GRACE. Praise be to God!

If you are one of those whose has received God's marvellous gift of grace leave an "Amen" in the comments.